Chapter 525 - 525: Six Months Later

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Anko's casual promise of "just a few months" still echoed in Ankh's ears, and after spending a full six months recovering, he wanted nothing more than to raise a middle finger in her direction.

Six whole months.

That was how long it had taken Anke to completely remove the lingering damage left behind by Zous and Sorda.

During that time, Ankh had divided his days between training High Enchantment Magic and exchanging letters with everyone back in Earth Land.

Eventually, even the habitually lazy Selene got sick of playing courier and simply refused to keep doing it.

Fortunately, she was still decent enough to offer them an alternative.

After repeated requests from Fairy Tail, Selene taught the guild a form of spatial teleportation magic capable of crossing between worlds.

Aqua Aera.

By touching water and tracing a pattern through the air, the caster could open a spatial portal.

With enough Magic Power, the spell could even forcibly transport multiple people at once.

It was originally a magic used by the Exceeds of Elentear, the parallel world overflowing with Magic Power.

Though it possessed no offensive capabilities, its sheer convenience made it incredibly useful.

Naturally, everyone in Fairy Tail immediately wanted to learn it.

Then something completely unexpected happened.

Despite the guild being filled with absurdly talented mages, only one of them managed to master Aqua Aera.

Or, more accurately—one cat.

...

"Ankh!"

Inside the royal palace of Edolas, Ankh was eating in the dining hall when an excited shout suddenly came from behind him.

He turned just in time to see a small blue blur launch itself straight at him.

Ankh caught Happy easily and laughed.

"You're early today."

"Aye!"

Happy threw up one paw enthusiastically.

"I wanted to tell everyone how you're doing as soon as possible!"

Then he immediately leaned closer.

"Ankh, didn't you say you were almost completely better? Can you come back to the guild now?"

As ridiculous as it sounded, the magic that had defeated nearly every mage in Fairy Tail had ultimately been mastered by Happy.

Natsu, Erza, and the others had nearly lost their minds over it.

They had gone through an entire vat of water trying to make the spell work, only for Happy to dip the tip of his tail into the water, casually give Aqua Aera his very first try—and succeed immediately.

Maybe the spell was simply selective about its users.

Happy's compatibility with Aqua Aera was absurdly high, probably because it was originally an Exceed spell in Elentear and Happy happened to be an Exceed himself.

More importantly, among Fairy Tail's Exceeds, Happy had always been the best at Wing Magic.

Whatever the reason, after becoming the only one who could use Aqua Aera, Happy had naturally taken over as Fairy Tail's messenger between worlds.

His Magic Power was still too low to bring other people through the portal with him, so every time he visited Edolas, he arrived carrying bags full of gifts and letters from the guild.

Happy removed the little pack strapped to his back and immediately began unloading everything he had brought.

Ankh accepted the latest batch of letters with a smile.

"I was actually about to tell you something. My injuries are finally healed."

Happy froze.

"I can go back today."

"Really?!"

Happy's enormous eyes lit up.

He immediately wrapped himself around Ankh's arm and burst into loud, dramatic tears.

"That's great! The guild's been really weird without you!"

His mouth immediately started running at full speed.

"Mirajane spends forever just staring into space every day, and she keeps watching us practice Aqua Aera! She makes me start using it the second my Magic Power recovers every morning, even before sunrise!"

"And Erza's been training like she's completely lost it! Laxus and Natsu have gotten way grumpier too! All they ever do anymore is work or train!"

Happy rattled off everyone's recent situation like a machine gun.

The smile in Ankh's eyes gradually faded.

He could more or less understand why everyone had changed.

Their concern for him was only part of it.

The real problem was what that war had forced them to confront.

Their own helplessness.

When dragons appeared—and later, actual gods—only a tiny handful of people on the entire continent had been capable of standing beside Ankh.

The others had been forced to watch one of their own get badly injured, and when the time came to evacuate him, they had even needed an outsider's help.

For people like Laxus, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and the others—proud mages who treasured their companions more than anything—that kind of helplessness was impossible to accept.

Ankh sighed and rubbed Happy's head.

"I'll talk to everyone once I'm back."

His smile returned.

"Don't worry."

Happy immediately cheered up as well, his usual energetic grin returning.

Then, barely a second later, he leaned forward impatiently.

"So are you leaving right now?"

Ankh shook his head.

"I should at least say goodbye to Mystogan and the others first. They've taken care of me for the last six months."

Happy's ears drooped in disappointment, but only briefly.

Then he perked right back up.

"Then I'll go tell everyone first!"

Before Ankh could stop him, Happy dipped his tail into a nearby fish tank and deftly traced a circle through the air.

A watery portal opened in front of him.

"I'm going back!"

Happy dove straight through.

Ankh watched him disappear and shook his head helplessly.

Happy really had become just as impulsive as Natsu.

He could only use Aqua Aera twice a day with his current Magic Power—exactly enough for one round trip—and yet he still rushed off without even checking whether he had forgotten anything.

"Whatever."

Ankh leaned back.

"I'll say goodbye to Mystogan and the others, leave them a gift, then head home."

Coincidentally, the day Ankh chose to leave Edolas was also the day Mystogan, now king, was holding his wedding banquet.

His bride was not Edolas's Erza.

That Erza seemed to spend most of her time with Anke these days, training in Edolas's newly developed replacement for Magic Power—a form of energy that was apparently somewhat similar to battle aura.

Mystogan's actual bride, however…

Ankh knew her.

Quite well, in fact.

Remembering the expression on the newlyweds' faces when they invited him to the wedding feast, Ankh couldn't help but smile.

Once he returned to Earth Land, he had just acquired an entirely new subject to torment Jellal with.

With that thought occupying his mind, Ankh got up and started preparing for the wedding banquet.

...

Meanwhile, Happy had already returned to Fairy Tail.

Earth Land.

Kingdom of Fiore.

Magnolia.

Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, a crowd had gathered tightly around one table, all of them staring expectantly at the empty air above it.

A circular portal of water suddenly appeared.

Happy burst through in dramatic fashion.

"I'm back!"

The words had barely left his mouth before Natsu grabbed him.

"Why are you back so fast today?!"

Erza immediately snatched Happy away from him.

"Didn't you say Ankh was nearly recovered? Did he give you anything? Any message?"

Mirajane's eyes had already locked onto the bag strapped to Happy's back, and judging from her expression, she was dangerously close to simply taking it herself.

Everyone crowded around at once, bombarding Happy with questions.

Happy planted both paws on his hips and puffed out his chest proudly.

This was always his favorite part of the day.

Whenever he returned from Edolas, Happy-sama became the most important person in the entire guild.

At least until Carla finally lost patience and smacked him with one paw.

Happy immediately jumped into the air and shouted at the top of his lungs,

"He's coming back!"

"Ankh's coming home today!"